What is the Government planning to do next?
Following the passing of the Rwanda Bill on 22nd April, the Government plans to send the first plane to Rwanda in July. Detention facilities have been increased, dedicated caseworkers have been made ready and extra courtrooms and judges have been earmarked to increase sittings. The Government says it has 500 trained escorts, and 300 more in training, to accompany asylum seekers to Rwanda.
What are the chances of delays to the Government’s plans?
Campaigners opposing the plans, and individual asylum seekers who are told they are to be sent to Rwanda, could seek to take the UK government to court again in a bid to stop flights. Whether these would be successful is unsure.
On 14th May, the High Court in Northern Ireland ruled that large parts of the Illegal Migration Act should not apply there because they breach human rights laws and are counter to the Windsor Framework, the revised post-Brexit deal agreed between the UK and EU last year. The Government believes that those served with notices of removal to Rwanda can be removed through existing legislation.
What is Operation Vector and how is it being used to support the removal of asylum seekers to Rwanda?
At the end of April, the Home Office launched a nationwide operation to round up asylum seekers. Many asylum seekers are required to attend routine appointments at immigration centres. Some of these have been detained when attending, being searched and handcuffed. Their smartphones and other belongings have been taken away and they now face a months-long wait until they know their fate, many struggling to access legal advice and support from charities. This is leading to panic and desperation and is whipping up fear across the whole refugee community.
Refugee charities say the threat of detention risks pushing people to disengage from the system. They may be less likely to report to the Home Office, as well as to access healthcare or go to the police if they are in danger, leaving them vulnerable to exploitation.
There are also reports of people leaving Home Office accommodation in fear.
In a further twist, the Home Office has admitted that over half of the 5,700 asylum seekers initially earmarked for deportation to Rwanda cannot be immediately located.
Final word, for now, from the United Nations
“The adoption of the Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill by the UK Parliament raises major issues about the human rights of asylum seekers and the rule of law more generally”, said Michael O’Flaherty, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights. “The United Kingdom government should refrain from removing people under the Rwanda policy and reverse the Bill’s effective infringement of judicial independence”, he underlined.
